electric twist
by perilousgard
Summary: He is precise, dedicated, centered. She has a hard time imagining when her boy was lost and broken, because he is so good at holding himself - and her - together. [Makorra.]


So, I'm updating here again! Lately I've been writing a lot of Makorra, because I have to admit that ship's caught me right in the feels and NOW I CAN'T STOP WRITING THEM, UGH THESE CUTE DORKS. For more Korra stuff, you guys can check out my tumblr if you want: perilousgard dot tumblr dot com

_electric twist_

The low-burning candles smell of jasmine and lotus blossom. Korra closes her eyes, letting herself blend in, just for a moment, with the relative darkness. When she opens them again, she finds a pair of amber eyes. She smiles, resting her hands in her lap, and leans forward slightly over the carpeted floor.

"So, is there a reason this feels like a meditation?"

Mako shakes his head, mirroring her smile. "You need to be very calm for this. I figured your meditation room would do as well as anything else." He's sitting so close to her that she can smell his scent, which is both familiar and attractive, and she knows her thoughts could wander dangerously in this darkened room if she doesn't stay focused. "Your firebending teacher didn't ever try to teach you this?"

"I'm not sure he knew how, himself," Korra replies. "It didn't used to be all that common of a skill, apparently."

He nods. "It's been developed more over time. You think you're ready for this?"

Korra's fingers brush his as they rest on the carpet, and she's drifted even closer now, scant inches keeping them apart. Mako suddenly feels like he is being consumed by her blue eyes. "Korra. The lesson?" They need to stay focused; they're in Tenzin's house. Being separated for several months while he trained with the police and she visited her family has made them a little less inhibited.

She rolls her eyes a little, and leans back. "Yes, I'm ready. But we aren't really going to bend lightning in here, are we?"

"No, we need open space for that. But you have to concentrate for this part."

She nods and leans away from him, too. Airbending training and wise words from her uncle have taught her to be more patient, but Mako is very good at breaking her resolve. "Teach away, city boy."

He lets out a sound of amusement, lips quirking up. "It also requires a complete lack of emotion."

She quirks an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Your body is becoming a conduit for pure energy. It has to travel right through your heart and out. You don't want anything to disrupt that. Bending lightning is very dangerous." He's giving her this look like he wants her to back down, and she scoffs.

"I know it's dangerous, and you wouldn't be teaching me if you weren't sure I was strong enough, would you?" Her smile is gentle. "I can handle it."

Of course, he knows she's strong enough. She's the girl who doesn't need saving, especially from him. But the problem with Mako letting people into his life (_and his heart) _is that he never, ever stops worrying about them.

"Okay," he says, pushing away the doubts. "Let's get started."

When Korra feels the yin and yang energies traveling through her body for the first time, it's so thrilling that it frightens her.

Sparks fly from her fingers, and then there's a small explosion that sends her backwards off her feet. She hits her head on a stone step in the courtyard and Mako's fingers tenderly probe the bruise blooming on her skull, telling her they can take a break, because she's hit her head pretty hard. But she's already surging to her feet again, ignoring the slight dizziness.

"Let me try again," she says, because bending has never made her feel quite like _that _before.

It's easy for Korra to understand why Mako is so skilled at bending lightning.

He is precise, dedicated, centered. She has a hard time imagining when her boy was lost and broken, because he is so good at holding himself - and her - together. She knows there are things he still hasn't told her, things about his past that are dark and sad and haunt his eyes sometimes when he thinks she's not looking. But he never shows it, never talks about it, and it hasn't made him any weaker. If anything, the tragedy in his life has made him stronger, capable of doing more. Sometimes, Korra isn't sure whether she should be proud of him for that or just sad.

She doesn't have much practice in schooling her own emotions. She speaks her mind, acts first and asks questions later, is often irrational and hot-tempered. When she's angry, or sad, or happy, everyone knows it. It's written plainly on her face and the way she carries herself. Even the learned calm that came with her airbending training couldn't keep her from wearing her emotions on her sleeve.

Emptying herself of feeling is harder than she thought, especially when Mako is her teacher.

After a couple more tries, Korra gets it. Lightning crackles from her fingertips and makes her hair stand on end, her skin prickle, her body thrum with energy. It feels like an extension of herself, much like all her bending does, but altogether very different. It's still frightening, because she isn't in control. She's only a guide. And as the blue light illuminates the darkness of the courtyard, she begins to understand why this technique was once so rare.

She practices for several nights by herself, perfecting her manipulation of the lightning, until she is able to send it sizzling through the sky over Yue Bay like the warning of a fierce storm.

It makes her feel powerful. Tenzin and her uncle have both warned her about pride more times than she can count, but she can't help feeling proud now. She laughs as her lightning strikes the sky again.

_If there's anyone else out there who wants to mess up the balance of this world, come on out!_

Across from Yue Bay, looking out the window of his tiny apartment near the police station, Mako sees the lightning and smiles.

"You know, it took me almost a year to fully master that technique," he says later, as he and Korra lay in a heap of tangled limbs on his bed.

"What technique?" She's lazy, relaxed, tipping her head lazily to meet his eyes as her fingers make light circles over the bare skin of his chest.

"Bending lightning. I saw the storm earlier."

She pouts a little. "Oh, it was going to be a surprise. I was going to demonstrate for you in person."

He pulls her up a little closer, pressing his nose into her hair, taking in the scent of rain and wind that he always associates with her. "It's okay. That was quite a clear demonstration."

Her fingers trail down his sides, making him shiver. "So it took you a year? How come?"

"I dunno." It's comfortable, here in the dark with Korra's warm skin pressed up against his own, and it opens the hole inside him where he hides the dark things. "For a long time, I was uncomfortable using my firebending after my parents were killed. I used it because I had to. Because I had to protect Bolin, and we were alone on the streets. If you can believe it, some of the guys from the bending triads are the ones who gave me a positive outlook on my firebending again." Sensing her surprise even without looking at her, he goes on. "They aren't all bad, you know. They're criminals, but they taught me how to honor my heritage again."

"By making you break the law."

"No, by helping me realize that my firebending is part of me and that being ashamed of it is like being ashamed of myself."

Korra nods slowly. "So what does that have to do with it taking you a year to master lightning?"

He shrugs. "I was told it had something to do with being at war with myself because I couldn't accept who I was. Well…I accepted it, but I wasn't proud of it."

Korra is silent for a moment, before she realizes he's finally told her something real and solid about his past, and happily she sits up enough to kiss him.

He smiles into the kiss. "What was that for?"

In answer, she kisses him again. "You're a big idiot. Just remember that _I'm _always proud of you."

Mako pulls her close before she can sit back and no other words are spoken.


End file.
